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City-County Council proposal would urge Indiana to take up assault weapons ban

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis City-County Council could officially urge the Indiana General Assembly to support a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Councilor William C. Oliver (D) has introduced a special resolution that would urge state lawmakers to enact the ban. The resolution wouldn't change any laws or ordinances in Indianapolis. It will be introduced at Monday night's City-County Council meeting.

The resolution cites the number of protestors at the March 24 "March for our Lives" protests in Washington, D.C., and in Indianapolis. It also cites a 2017 Pew Research Poll
, which found that 68 percent of adults favor banning assault weapons and 65 percent support a ban on high-capacity magazines.

The resolution also discussed the federal assault weapons ban, which was in effect from 1994 to 2004. The resolution states that deaths by gun massacre (defined as six or more deaths) went down during the period of the assault weapons ban, compared to the decades before and after.

But critics of the ban say assault weapons are only used in a small amount of gun crimes, and a federal study of the ban concluded
that the ban's "impact on gun violence is likely to be small at best, and perhaps too small for reliable measurement."

If passed, the council would urge the General Assembly to ban assault weapons, and magazines holding more than 10 rounds.